Over the past two years or so, there’s been talk of not one but two sequels to Roland Emmerich’s awesome 1996 sci-fi blockbuster, Independence Day, all of which you can catch up on here.
Details about the plot specifics have been kept pretty tightly under wraps, but some interesting details about the project itself have now arisen.
Emmerich spoke to The Lantern this week and it sounds like things are moving forward with the project, and even that we could start to see some concrete traction being made sooner rather than later.
“I’d say hold tight… It’s happening soon.”
Emmerich and his old frequent writing collaborator, Dean Devlin (Independence Day, Godzilla, Stargate), have been working on the scripts and Emmerich is working on rounding up the original cast, which included Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum, all brilliant actors and brilliant in their roles in the first film.
In their report, Collider say that the scripts for both the second and third films in what will become the Independence Day trilogy have been written, but whether or not they’re entirely finished or just semi-fleshed skeletons is unclear in light of Emmerich’s interview earlier this week.
Interestingly, however, they note that Will Smith is asking for somewhere in the range of $50m. to star in both films, which is a pretty high asking price. However, given that the first film made north of $800m., and that was fifteen years ago, unadjusted for inflation, it wouldn’t be too hard a stretch to believe that the two films together would make over a billion dollars between them. And when you consider the plan is to shoot them back-to-back, thus bringing down the budget, Smith’s price tag is probably not an unreasonable percentage of the profits the films will likely go on to make, even if that initial $50m. figure does sound very high.
Though plot details are being kept hush hush, it is thought that despite being filmed back-to-back, the two films will work as standalone films in their own right, linked through a cliffhanger and an overarching plot between them. So whilst the details aren’t especially informative right now, it sounds like the project to bring a second and third film to the big screen is still very much alive.
I love the first film so much, and I’m hoping that if these two do get made, then by the time the third one rolls around, cinemas will offer a six-/seven-hour epic showing of all three films, start-to-finish. Until then, I’ll leave you with this inspirational speech from the first film by Bill Pullman. It’s one of my all-time favourite film speeches that just raises the hairs down my spine no matter how many times I hear it.
“We will not go quietly into the night. We will not vanish without a fight. We’re going to live on. We’re going to survive. Today, we celebrate our Independence Day.”
Cue ridiculously incredible triumphant film score. Enjoy. Be inspired.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDOUvOTX-gA’]
